Fulton, MO 11/10/2022- The Westminster College women's basketball team hosted Kansas Christian College for their season and home opener on Thursday night inside the historic gym. The Falcons kept the game close for a good portion of the game, but the Blue Jays were able to come away with the victory with a final score of 66-52. The Blue Jays start the season with a 1-0 record.

Westminster shot out the gates and took an early 6-0 that extended to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. The Falcons would gather themselves and cut into the Westminster lead by the end of the first quarter with a score of 18-9. The Blue Jays forced the Falcons to commit a lot of turnovers in the first with their press defense, forcing eight turnovers total.

Kansas Christian would continue their rally and keep ticking away at the Blue Jay lead in the second quarter. The Falcons would outscore the Blue Jays in the second quarter 18-11 and found themselves only down two points as they headed into halftime 29-27.

After the break, the Jays would assert their dominance one more time, playing much better and like how they played in the first quarter. They would start the second half on a seven-point run with Chole Akerson (Saint Louis, Mo. / Lutheran South) hitting back-to-back three-pointers to put the Jays up 35-27. Westminster would extend their lead to thirteen points ending the third quarter leading 48-35.

The Blue Jays would keep the lead around thirteen points in the fourth quarter and win with a final score of 66-52. The Jays were led by Avylina Powell- Qualo (Republic, Mo. / Republic) with twenty-one points and five rebounds. She would also have four steals in the game. Akerson scored twelve points in the game, going four for six from behind the three-point arc.

The Blue Jays will be back in action on Friday after traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to compete in the Lauren Hill Classic hosted by Mount St. Joseph. They will take on Heidelberg University at 7:00 PM.